REVIEW: How to Install the Power2U AC/USB Wall Outlet

Our friends over at Other World Computing recently announced the availability of the Power2U AC/USB Wall Outlet. It’s a drop-in electrical outlet which adds two USB charging ports to a standard 120 volt socket.

We had a master electrician do the installation of one to teach us how to install the Power2U, and as you can see it’s pretty easy. The most important rules are:

Turn off the electricity at the breaker!

If your socket doesn’t look like the one in the video, call an electrician!

Installing the unit is the hardest part. After you’ve done it, the new charger just works. You still have two 110v outlets, but beside them are two USB charging ports. Each of the ports can provide full power for whatever device you need to charge off it.

A few things you might want to know:

The physical design of the Power2U is kind of large. So you need to make sure you have a deep electrical box to mount it in.

After you install it, you must put the face plate on it before the USB ports will work. The little doors that cover them flip a switch to power on the ports when opened.

Speaking of powering on the ports, when no device is plugged into the USB, it doesn’t use any electricity. So they aren’t vampire devices in disguise.